Related Stories

The 20-year-old White Oaks Secondary School graduate was named Wednesday as the captain of the Canadian team that will compete in the U-20 Women’s World Cup tournament next month in four Canadian cities, including Toronto.

“It’s disappointing there was no Canadian team in the World Cup. But I know other countries, when they think of women's soccer, they think of Canada as a top competitor,” said McNicoll, who led the NCAA's Wisconsin Badgers in points and assists last season as a sophomore midfielder but will be utilized as a defender by Canada.

“We certainly want to build on the exposure (soccer has received this summer). I know our team has talked about it.. it’s our goal to excite the country.”

The Canadian senior women’s team is currently ranked seventh in the world, coming off a bronze-medal win at the 2012 Olympics in London — when Oakville’s Diana Matheson scored in the final minute of injury time to beat France, 1-0.

But Canada’s U20 women’s program has not been quite as fortunate in recent years, failing to advance past group play at the World Cup since it last hosted the tournament in 2002.

Canadian U20 women’s head coach Andrew Olivieri recently told FIFA.com that winning a quarter-final game at this year’s tournament is “an ambitious target”, but also “achievable.”

McNicoll agreed advancing past group play would make for a successful tournament for Canada, which will open the competition Aug. 5 versus Ghana at Toronto’s BMO Field.

The Canadian women’s preliminary-round schedule also includes games against Finland Aug. 8 in Toronto and Korea DPR Aug. 12 in Montreal. Moncton and Edmonton will be the other host cities for the tournament. Montreal will be the site for the semifinals and medal games.

McNicoll said her father, Andrew, has already purchased a large number of tickets for the first game in Toronto. She is excited about the opportunity to play for her home country, in her home country, and in front of family and friends.

“I’ve been in the spotlight before, when you have a ton of pressure on your shoulders and a lot of people expect different things from you,” said McNicoll, whose goal four years ago lifted Canada to a 1-0 win over Mexico in the CONCACAF U17 final.

“I’m not one to get super-nervous before a game. I definitely like the pressure and expectations.”

The U20 women’s team will prepare for the tournament by playing a pair of friendlies in Mexico, followed by an exhibition contest against England.